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quinta-feira, 14 de junho de 2012

SUSTENTAINABILITY: THE ENVIRONMENT WE ALL WANT

(Porfirio J. Neves)

When one speaks about sustainability, the majority of people turns to think of the issues, involving the material or artificial progress, which keep life with relative comfort. Just few of them consider that the sustainability of life on Earth goes primarily through psychological,social and cultural issues.

Whenever you are upset or not in a good mood, you tend to throw whatever you have anywhere you pass by – you get extremely impolite, kicking stuff that you stumble on your way. Therefore, before talking about sustainability, you should bear in mind the common state of happiness and self-satisfaction.

The psychological and social issues, in fact, are determiners to reach this level of sustainability, mainly what refers to the natural and cultural aspects of life. These issues are, in the last instance, what defines the guidelines of how we should proceed with the environment. When I speak of social and educational issue, I am referring not to the educational system, but to the way that life should be seen. Those who have culture know how to live life in the right way.

Bearing titles, that qualify you as having the technical or literary culture, does not make you a cultured person. Many people with this Status do not even know the block where they live. A cultured person is the one, who knows life through and through and, because of that, she can give the due respect to Life and Nature, looking for the means to understand them better. This is the real Culture.

If the authorities knew how to stimulate these concepts among the population, they would certainly spend less in the maintenance of the order and security, turning the progress more sustainable and adaptable to everybody's needs. Lamentably they do that, providing leisure and sports – things that are not sustainable – for the masses. All that will just propitiate some level of pleasure for the population.

It is worth noting that the spread and realization of such events produce the squandering of resources which will, inevitably, overcharge the environment beyond its capacity, because of the large hordes that they attract.

Within a healthy context the needs are adequate to what is possible and sustainable. However, the trend in the Media is to promote abuse and chaos for the elaboration of things that are far too expensive and unreachable for most people.

It is like the lottery, which stimulates the people into buying the ticket, when in fact very few have chances to win. This is the good example of unsustainable actions, for those who run this type of game, also, wanting to fight against gambling, as though they would put an end to illegality or immorality.

Other example that we see in the Media are those advertisements, which will prompt people to go beyond their own limits, and it is shown as a great headway. It is a headway that disfavors the large majority, thus unsustainable!

It is important to note here that it is all unnecessary, if the population receives what they really need: culture! Culture dispenses with all this apparatus.

Whenever one speaks of sustainability, it is common to associate it with the physical environment and not to the cultural habits of the people who inhabit these environments.

Someone, who is dissatisfied and lacking life perspectives, will never be able to be educated about the environmental issues. How can you educate a child, living in a place full of garbage, which threatens its quality of life?

If the fostering personnel of this kind of education cannot offer any moral conduct or human dignity to the population, they will never be able to promote sustainable actions among them.

A bad example to that is the use of Media to promote campaigns for sustainable actions, when they themselves are involved with disaggregation and unethical aspects in society.

You see, nobody can attest the veracity of what is being said, and it will eventually discredit a whole group behind these campaigns. This is the wrong Turn take by those, who believe they can educate the population only through Laws and Decrees.
Sustainability is a concept that should employed, above all, at a local level. It is wrong-doing trying to blame the population for global issues, such as Global Warming.

In 1992, at the UN CONFERENCE (ECO 92), a Canadian teenager of 13 years surprised the world conference, after delivering her speech in Rio de Janeiro. Sevem Suzuki demanded a change of conduct from the authorities in the way they dealt with environment issues, since they could affect the future generations.

She depicted the world situation of the hungry children and the animals, that were being killed because of the poisoning in the Atmosphere and in Water; it was like a wake up call to those who were much more interested with the points on the Stock Market.

She said, “Losing my future is not like losing an election or a few points on the stock market. I am here to speak for all generations to come.

I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard.

I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet because they have nowhere left to go. We cannot afford to be not heard.

All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. I’m only a child and I don’t have all the solutions, but I want you to realize, neither do you!

* You don’t know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer.

* You don’t know how to bring salmon back up a dead stream.

* You don’t know how to bring back an animal now extinct.

* And you can’t bring back forests that once grew where there is now desert.

If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!

Here, you may be delegates of your governments, business people, organizers, reporters or politicians – but really you are mothers and fathers, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles – and all of you are somebody’s child.

I’m only a child yet I know we are all part of a family, five billion strong, in fact, 30 million species strong and we all share the same air, water and soil — borders and governments will never change that.”

Her final words were, “ Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown ups say you love us. I challenge you, please make your actions reflect your words. Thank you for listening”

Well, in a short analysis of this speech in the ECO 92, there were 5 billions of human beings; however, today the population is beyond 7 billions at a time when we are moving to our next conference – the RIO + 20.

Imagine, if we had all these problems with 5 billions, what are they like, now with a population of 7 billions? The water we drink will continue being treated through artificial means; however it is the same water, we drink all around, for the world is a fish bowl. The reparable actions, that have been taken so far, are insufficient to minimize the problems that have become out of proportion.

Nonetheless what has been done of cultural aspect, such as implementing a process of education turned to the environment, is still very little. Some people are still waiting for a super-hero to come down here and save the whole planet, forgetting that it is their responsibility to trace the origin of this chaos.

Sevem Suzuki, in spite of this polemic speech, launched a challenge to be reached by the adults at that time. Now that she is an adult, she will be present again in Rio+20 with another teenager. What will her speech be like?

The lines and other aspects of what has been discussed will be mentioned in the Rio+20 Conference. Therefore, it is important to add to all these parameters the cultural aspects that can make us aware of the Life in the World. And this is only possible, if taken under the awareness of what we really are, where we come from and to where we are going. Only then the measures for the preservation of the species on this planet will be effective.

The simple act of knowing oneself; knowing the true Origin of human kind and the purpose of life here will assure the competence in the fulfillment of one's duties and responsibilities to Nature.

Those who can live life with equilibrium and having only what is essential for living, without damaging the common level of happiness and satisfaction, will be able to make great headway in the sustainable development.

It is, though, compulsory that we all attain the real knowledge of whom we are, from where we come and to where we are going. Without that, one is doomed to live in a growing world of confusions.

Knowing thyself is the most important Asset right now. And understanding our real role here will bring us to a new level of humanitarian and happy society. It has been more than 20 years now and 77 years of Rational Culture, and very little has changed in the way of thinking of most people, who are still dreaming.

Let's leave the Thought once and for all and embark on the new phase of the Reasoning. We have to start studying the Rational Culture Books and connect to the Eternal Father, the Rational World.